NEWS ROUNDUP

Governor seeks inspection of Canadian cattle With Canadian cattle once again crossing the U.S. border, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer ordered Thursday that all animals destined for Montana must be checked to ensure they comply with new federal restrictions. Veterinarians, acting on behalf of the state Livestock Department, will inspect feeder cattle to determine whether they are younger than 30 months, not pregnant and have the mandated "CAN" brand, Schweitzer said. Owners of the cattle will be required to pay the cost of the inspections, which the governor estimated would be $3 to $5 a head. Schweitzer, a rancher himself, cited lingering concerns about importing cattle from a country that has reported three cases of mad cow disease during the past two years. "I am committed to the ranchers and consumers in this state," he said. "We will take every precaution available to us to protect Montanans and the Montana cattle industry." He said he will urge governors in Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming to take similar action....
White House Ties Secure Yates' Drilling Rights to Sensitive N.M. Grasslands For $2 an acre, the Bush Administration has given the rights to drill for oil and gas on New Mexico's Otero Mesa to a company whose White House connections were key to reversing earlier plans to protect much of the area from drilling. On July 20, the Harvey E. Yates Company, or HEYCO, of Roswell, N.M., placed the only bid for drilling rights to 1,600 acres of the environmentally sensitive Mesa in central New Mexico. A 2004 investigation by Environmental Working Group found that the Yates family controlled almost three times as many oil and gas leases on Western public lands as any other entity. In the last three election cycles, HEYCO and other Yates companies have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of President Bush and other Republican candidates. After a former Yates lobbyist was appointed to the No. 2 position at the Interior Department, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revised a draft plan that would have restricted drilling on about 60 percent of the Mesa, to allow drilling in more than 90 percent of the area....
Out on a limb In the forest near Ovando, where larch tower into the sky high above the Douglas fir and lodgepole pine, something new is happening. It’s early on the morning of July 13, and representatives from three Missoula conservation groups, along with volunteers and a crew of sawyers, are surveying yesterday’s work. For the first time, they’ve been given charge of four acres of a 300-acre Forest Service fuel reduction project, with which to demonstrate how they think thinning ought to be done. “We felt like it was important to get our hands on something and show the agency a different approach,” says Jake Kreilick, with the National Forest Protection Alliance (NFPA). Along with the Native Forest Network, Wildlands CPR and the Sierra Club, NFPA is a partner in the project. Wildland Conservation Services’ crew, headed by local forester and soil scientist Mark Vander Meer, is providing the technical expertise and handling the saws....
Contractor rounds up wild cows in the Gila Wild cows that have been grazing illegally on the Gila National Forest are being rounded up by a contractor working for the US Forest Service. Forest officials says they have been rounding up cattle since 1998 to protect resources in the area. And there may be 35 or more cattle spread throughout the rugged draws and canyons in the upper Gila River. Forest officials say those cattle have escaped past roundups and have evolved into feral cows. The contractor started the roundup last week. So far, six cows have been captured....
Freudenthal seeks roadless answers Wyoming may be better off participating in conventional forest planning to determine roadless areas in the state rather taking advantage of the Bush administration's new roadless rules, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said Wednesday. Under the new roadless rules issued by the Bush administration, governors can submit petitions to stop road building on some of the 34.3 million acres where it would now be permitted or request that new forest management plans be written to allow road-building on some of another 24.2 million acres. Wyoming has 3.2 million acres of roadless forests. But Freudenthal said the petition process is "essentially meaningless" because the new rule doesn't obligate the federal government to do anything. He sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns asking how much influence the state's petitions would have, how they would be judged and prioritized and who would pay for the environmental analyses....
Alleged gator killer faces charges The South Richmond fisherman who this month allegedly killed a reptile that had been lurking in Chesterfield County's Falling Creek Reservoir will face charges, according to federal wildlife officials. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said yesterday that the creature has been identified as an American alligator, which is a "threatened species" protected by the Endangered Species Act. "We have referred the case to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Richmond, and [criminal] charges have been filed," agency spokeswoman Diana Weaver said. The maximum possible penalty for killing a protected species is a $100,000 fine, a one-year prison term and forfeiture of any equipment used while the animal was killed, she said....
Kit foxes den still has school project on hold Most of the Taft City School District's modernization projects started so far are either completed or well underway - with one exception. The district is still waiting for the go-ahead to continue work on the Taft Parkview library media center. That project was held up when it was found that kit foxes, and endangered species, were living in a den close to where the building was being installed. That forced a complete halt to the project while the district hired a consultant to work out a plan to allow construction to continue....
Ospreys threaten to ruffle feathers at Irondale High A pile of sticks clustered on a platform atop a light pole at the Irondale High School football field drew stares and interest all spring and summer. Science teachers said it was likely the home of an osprey, a federally protected bird of prey with a 5-foot wingspan that makes a habit of nesting at the highest point near wetlands. "I thought it was pretty awesome," recalled Principal Colleen Wambach. "Now I'm just hoping we can co-exist.'' It seems this marvel of nature, with at least one chick in its 3-foot-wide nest, could temporarily halt activities on these athletic fields at the New Brighton school — possibly delaying completion of an artificial turf project and sending the marching band, soccer and football players to practice elsewhere....
Utility plans to remove dam A Utah-based utility will ask federal regulators for permission to remove an aging small dam on the Bear River in Idaho, a move that environmentalists say will help improve dwindling numbers of Bonneville cutthroat trout. The Cove Dam near the southeastern Idaho community of Grace is expected to be removed next year pending approval by the agency that licenses privately operated dams, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A dam removal agreement was signed Wednesday in Pocatello between the utility and various groups and agencies, including the Shoshone-Bannock Indian tribe, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition....
Sen. Salazar aims to prod agencies on Flats plans Sen. Ken Salazar has flexed some procedural muscle in the hope of getting the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge plans moving, but Sen. Wayne Allard's office thinks that could do more harm than good. Salazar, D-Denver, used his senator's prerogative Thursday to place a hold on three nominations for top jobs in the Department of Energy and another in the Department of Interior. It's meant to prod the two agencies into wrapping up their negotiations on a mineral-rights issue that is one of the last hang-ups before the site of a former nuclear weapons plant can be transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The move surprised Allard, who has worked on the Rocky Flats issue in Congress since before Salazar took office. "Sen. Allard is concerned this action may have made things more difficult to achieve," chief of staff Sean Conway said. "I think we were literally days away from an agreement. Sen. Allard's concern is these people have been working with us in good faith. All of a sudden, their willingness to work with us gets rewarded by this?"....
Conservancy Buys Riverfront Land The Nature Conservancy has purchased nearly three miles of land along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, reaching the halfway point in its goal to protect about 20 miles of habitat along the riverbank. The 377 acres near Piru Creek, once slated for aggregate mining, is home to nearly three dozen endangered, threatened or sensitive species, including steelhead trout and the California red-legged frog. "It's really a big deal for us, because we've crossed the 2,000-acre threshold. We've crossed the 10-mile milestone, too. It's motivational," said E.J. Remson of the conservancy, the nonprofit environmental organization that is creating a conservation zone along one of the last free-flowing rivers in Southern California....
Symbol Of Wolf Reintroduction Program Dies A routine capture and checkup for one of the best known wolves in the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program ended in death Thursday after the animal overheated. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the female wolf died despite receiving immediate veterinary care. Officials said she was an integral part of the program to reintroduce the wolf back into its native land. Her photo was used repeatedly for posters and she became recognized as the symbol for Mexican wolf recovery. The wolf was at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro with her mate, four pups and her yearling male....
Wolf pack killed in central Idaho Officials confirmed that six wolves of the Copper Basin pack were killed Wednesday after repeated depredations on cattle. “We are hopeful that this control action will deter any future livestock depredations in this area,” said Carter Niemeyer, wolf recovery coordinator. “If the depredations continue, the rest of the pack will be removed.” The wolves killed two calves this past week on grazing allotments in the Challis National Forest between Mackay and Sun Valley. Last year the pack was responsible for killing four cattle, and livestock producers reported a large number of missing cattle in this area....
Small oil wells to lose discount With oil prices high, small-time oil producers whose wells generate fewer than 15 barrels a day will be required to pay more royalties to the government. The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday it will end its discount royalty rate for those who operate low-producing "stripper" oil wells. The Bush administration has been seeking more royalties from energy production, and this decision could bring in more than $50 million a year, split among the federal Treasury and states. It is "just terrible" and could mean jobs lost in some rural areas, said Dewey Bartlett Jr., president of the National Stripper Well Association, an Oklahoma City-based trade group....
Here's the deal on weed woes The ace of hearts is the saguaro. The ace of spades is the salt cedar, or tamarisk. A deck of playing cards making the rounds among the weed-pulling crowd has taken off like, well, a weed. The deck was created to raise awareness about the threat invasive weeds pose to Arizona's desert landscape. Those weeds, such as tamarisk or Sahara mustard, have spread across the landscape and are carrying the fire that has plagued desert areas from Coolidge to Cave Creek. The cards are the creation of the Sonoran Desert Invasive Species Council, a consortium of about two dozen groups from government agencies to botanical gardens....
Bush backs National Day of the Cowboy legislation On the verge of the upcoming “Daddy of ‘em all,” Frontier Days, President Bush issued an official statement supporting Thomas legislation designating July 23rd as the National Day of the Cowboy. The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), will be read Saturday at the opening weekend of Cheyenne Frontier Days. Thomas and his wife, Susan, will be on hand for the reading of the resolution and the announcement of the Presidential message. “I can think of no better place to make this announcement than at Cheyenne Frontier Days, which attracts visitors from all over the nation,” said Wyoming’s senior senator. A supporting message from President Bush said, “We celebrate the cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The cowboy’s love of the land and love of the country are examples for all Americans.”....
At end of life's trail In her prime, it wasn't uncommon for LaVonda to be first to aid in the fight against an Arizona wildfire. Thursday, the 34-year-old mule lost a battle of her own. For 22 years, being a pack mule for the Payson Forest Service District was all she knew. Retirement took her out of the Tonto National Forest, but those she spent time with on the trails never forgot her. Bought by the Forest Service in 1977 when she was 6, LaVonda was one of a dozen mules delivered to Arizona from Kansas to be placed among the many forest service districts....
Six-year-old is retiring at the top in mutton bustin' Koby Blunt gently lowered himself into the rodeo chute, climbing down the white fencing until he straddled his opponent: 250 pounds of bleating ovine. He wedged his right hand under the riding rope wrapped around the sheep's chest, squeezed his legs tight around its shaggy flanks and positioned his boots, spurs at the ready. He lifted his left arm into the air and instructed his assistants: "I'm ready, boys, let him out." When that gate flew open at the Winchester Open Rodeo earlier this month, it was a bittersweet moment in Koby Blunt's career. The rodeo was one of the last times Koby will compete in mutton bustin', the event he has dominated in Washington state and the Idaho panhandle. He can't compete after this season because he hit retirement age on July 6: 6 years old. "I'm the goodest sheep rider in the whole world," Koby says. Then he catches himself and adds: "Except Jesus."....

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